This invention relates to a golf ball retrieving assembly which can be pushed over a fairway to collect golf balls therefrom.
To facilitate collection of a large number of golf balls from a fairway, it is known to use golf ball retrievers. One type of golf ball retriever uses a number of spaced discs mounted to a common shaft. The spacing between the discs corresponds to the width of a golf ball so that as the discs move over a ground surface, golf balls are caught between adjacent discs. The golf balls are subsequently dislodged by a dislodging finger and are transferred to a collecting basket. The discs can either be ground engaging or can be mounted to a common shaft which terminates with a pair of ground engaging wheels to space the discs slightly above the ground surface. Devices of this type are disclosed in the following U.S. patents: U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,759 (Hollrock), U.S. Pat. No. 3,823,838 (Gustafsson), U.S. Pat. No. 3,175,714 (Wittik), U.S. Pat. No. 2,792,955 (Summer), U.S. Pat. No. 2,365,540 (Fonken) and U.S. Pat. No. 4,792,271 (Akel).
Many known retrieving units suffer from the disadvantage that they are towed behind a tractor or like vehicle. The tractor can run over golf balls which makes them difficult or impossible to collect by the spaced discs. My earlier U.S. patent (Tucek U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,383) discloses such a towed vehicle, as does Woodall (U.S. Pat. No 2,812,871).
Golf ball retrieving assemblies which are pushed in front of a pushing vehicle such as a tractor or the like are also known. Gustafsson (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,664,532 and 3,823,838) and also Hollrock (U.S. Pat. No. 3,995,759) disclose such pushed retrieving assemblies.
While pushed retrieving assemblies have the advantage that the pushing vehicle does not run over the golf balls before they are collected, existing assemblies still suffer from a number of disadvantages primarily the cost and complexity of the unit, and the inability of the retrievers to accurately track undulations along a fairway. In my earlier patent (Tucek U.S. Pat. No. 5,141,383) I provided an arrangement having wheels which individually tracked a ground surface. While the tracking was considered adequate, by having each wheel tracking a ground surface, the apparatus was relatively complex and expensive to manufacture.
Existing pushed retrievers usually comprise a single large unit or a number of smaller units linked together. The unit or units can be several metres long and each unit has a shaft to which the discs or wheels are mounted. By having a large single unit pushed in is front of a vehicle, or smaller units connected together, it is difficult to accurately track undulations along a fairway. That is, the single unit or linked units will merely pass over and not into gulleys, small depressions and the like. Examples of large single units or smaller interconnected units are described in Woodall (U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,812,871 and 3,784,037).
Another disadvantage with large or smaller linked units is in turning the entire assembly. When such an assembly is turned, the outer wheels turn more than the inner wheels and if the wheels are mounted to a common shaft, damage to the fairway will occur. Crabbing also occurs. Another disadvantage with existing golf ball retrieving assemblies is the use of angled draw bars which tend to cause a retrieving unit to adopt a sideways bias when being pushed or pulled along a fairway.
The present invention has developed a golf ball retrieving apparatus which may overcome the abovementioned disadvantages or provide the public with a useful or commercial choice.
In one form, the invention resides in a golf ball retrieving apparatus adapted to be pushed forward of a pushing vehicle, the apparatus comprising a plurality of golf ball collecting units coupled to a main frame assembly, wherein at least some of the golf ball collecting units are able to swivel relative to the main frame assembly, and at least some of the golf ball collecting units are able to move up and down relative to the main frame assembly.
With this arrangement, the apparatus can have a number of golf ball collecting units attached thereto, the golf ball collecting units need not be linked directly together, and by being able to swivel and pivot, the apparatus can track undulations along a ground surface simply and effectively.
Suitably, a first golf ball collecting unit is coupled to a forward portion of the main frame assembly.
Suitably, a second golf ball collecting unit is coupled to one side of the main frame assembly and preferably forward of the pushing vehicle, and a third unit is coupled to the other side of the main frame assembly and preferably forward of the pushing vehicle.
Suitably, the second and third golf ball collecting units are swivably coupled to an arm member, the arm member being pivotally coupled to the main frame assembly to allow the second and third units to move up and down and also to swivel relative to the main frame assembly.
Suitably, a fourth golf ball collecting unit is attached to one side of the main frame assembly and also to one side and behind a forward portion of the pushing vehicle, and a fifth golf ball collecting unit is attached to the other side of the main frame assembly and again to one side and behind a forward portion of the pushing vehicle.
The main frame assembly may comprise a first frame member which can extend forwardly of the pushing vehicle. A second and third frame member may be attached to each side of the first frame member, and may extend rearwardly therefrom to adjacent each side of the pushing vehicle and behind a front portion of the pushing vehicle. The second and third frame members may be rigidly coupled to the first frame member.
The first golf ball collecting unit may be attached to a forward end of the first frame member and is suitably swivably attached thereto.
Suitably, the second and fourth golf ball collecting units are coupled to the second frame member and the third and fifth golf ball collecting units are coupled to the third frame member.
The second-fifth golf ball collecting units may be attached to respective arm members. The arm members may be pivotally coupled to the respective main frame assembly. The arm members may also be swivably attached to each respective golf ball collecting units to allow each unit to swivel about a vertical axis. Preferably, the second-fifth units are also pivotally coupled to their respective arm members to allow each unit to move up and down along a pivot axis which are generally in line with the forward movement of the golf ball retrieving apparatus.